Auto-carrying HSGT systems: a strategic option for increasing HSGT ridership and benefits

The ridership and external benefits that can be reliably estimated for high speed ground transportation (HSGT) systems proposed for the US are simply too small to readily justify investment, as the difficulty in convincing governments and the private sector to initiate construction indicates. There is no fundamental problem with the HSGT technologies, but rather it is with the market for the service being too small-essentially an air travel market. To expand the market, and hence benefits, the transportation function of HSGT systems must be changed, so they serve the much larger markets of intercity travel dominated by motorists. An HSGT system designed to achieve this, by carrying autos with passenger-occupants, is sketched, and questions related to its feasibility are addressed. Such service would be far more suited to US travel patterns and lifestyles, and it would be compatible with offering of conventional passengers-in-HSGT-passenger-car service on the same lines. Synergistic aspects of such a system with intelligent vehicle/highway systems (IVHS) are discussed